Waymo, robotaxi operators face fresh scrutiny over emergency response failures
Waymo, robotaxi operators face fresh scrutiny over emergency response failures
Waymo 及其他自动驾驶出租车运营商因应急响应失败面临新一轮审查
Waymo and other robotaxi operators are facing increased scrutiny — and possible new federal requirements — over how their autonomous vehicles interact with emergency responders, a regulatory risk that’s becoming harder for the industry to shrug off. Waymo 及其他自动驾驶出租车（Robotaxi）运营商正面临日益严峻的审查，并可能迎来新的联邦监管要求，核心问题在于其自动驾驶车辆如何与应急响应人员进行交互。对于该行业而言，这种监管风险已变得难以忽视。
Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.) is the latest lawmaker to put pressure on the industry with a proposed bill that would direct federal regulators to establish minimum national safety standards for autonomous vehicle operators. 美国众议员凯文·穆林（Kevin Mullin，加州民主党籍）是最新一位向该行业施压的立法者，他提出了一项法案，旨在指导联邦监管机构为自动驾驶车辆运营商制定全国性的最低安全标准。
The proposed legislation, expected to be introduced in Congress this week, follows a number of incidents in which autonomous vehicles have blocked ambulances and fire trucks, driven into active crime scenes, and failed to recognize safety signals such as traffic cones and flares. 这项拟议中的法案预计将于本周提交国会。此前，自动驾驶车辆曾多次发生阻碍救护车和消防车通行、驶入正在处理的犯罪现场，以及未能识别交通锥和信号弹等安全警示信号的事件。
A TechCrunch investigation earlier this year identified a number of incidents in which Waymo relied on first responders to manually drive its vehicles when they encountered issues. TechCrunch 今年早些时候的一项调查发现，Waymo 在车辆遇到问题时，曾多次依赖急救人员手动驾驶其车辆。
The legislation, called the AV Emergency Response Coordination Act, was unveiled Tuesday during a press conference in San Francisco, a hub of autonomous vehicle testing and where hundreds of Waymo robotaxis already give rides to paying customers. 这项名为《自动驾驶车辆应急响应协调法案》（AV Emergency Response Coordination Act）的立法于周二在旧金山举行的新闻发布会上公布。旧金山是自动驾驶车辆测试的中心，目前已有数百辆 Waymo 自动驾驶出租车在此为付费乘客提供服务。
San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie, San Francisco fire chief Dean Crispen, and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety president Cathy Chase also spoke at the press conference. 旧金山市长丹尼尔·卢里（Daniel Lurie）、旧金山消防局局长迪恩·克里斯彭（Dean Crispen）以及公路与汽车安全倡导者组织主席凯西·蔡斯（Cathy Chase）也在新闻发布会上发表了讲话。
“We have seen disturbing, and frankly, an unacceptable number of incidents where autonomous vehicles inadvertently interfere with emergency responders,” Mullin said during the press conference. “我们已经看到了令人不安，坦率地说，数量多到无法接受的事件，自动驾驶车辆无意中干扰了应急响应人员的工作，”穆林在新闻发布会上说道。
Crispen said that while the fire department has worked with AV operators, a number of incidents, and a pattern of continued behavior, shows changes need to be made. He noted that robotaxis are picking up and dropping off passengers directly in front of fire stations and ambulance deployment facilities, which obstructs emergency access. 克里斯彭表示，尽管消防部门一直与自动驾驶运营商保持合作，但一系列事件以及持续出现的行为模式表明，必须做出改变。他指出，自动驾驶出租车经常在消防站和救护车部署设施的正前方接送乘客，这阻碍了紧急通道的通行。
Mullin’s bill proposes requiring AV companies to provide clear emergency protocols for first responders, establish a 24-hour hotline that gives public officials direct access to these companies, and directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop minimum national emergency response standards. 穆林的法案提议要求自动驾驶公司为急救人员提供明确的应急预案，建立 24 小时热线以便公职人员直接联系这些公司，并指导美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）制定全国性的最低应急响应标准。
The bill would also create a process allowing public officials to “geofence” AVs, a term referring to placing limits on where these vehicles can operate during emergencies or other ongoing safety hazards. 该法案还将建立一套流程，允许公职人员对自动驾驶车辆进行“地理围栏”（geofence）限制，即在紧急情况或其他持续存在的安全隐患期间，限制这些车辆的行驶区域。
For AV operators, that geofencing provision could matter as much as the safety standards themselves: It would give city and public safety officials a real-time lever to restrict where robotaxis can drive, rather than waiting on companies to self-regulate. 对于自动驾驶运营商而言，这一地理围栏条款的重要性可能不亚于安全标准本身：它将赋予城市和公共安全官员实时限制自动驾驶出租车行驶区域的权力，而无需再等待公司进行自我监管。
Waymo said in response that it has “long supported” a federal framework to establish standards for autonomous vehicles. “We similarly support efforts to standardize how AV developers engage with first responders,” Waymo said in a statement emailed to TechCrunch. Waymo 在回应中表示，公司“长期支持”建立自动驾驶车辆联邦监管框架。Waymo 在发给 TechCrunch 的声明中称：“我们同样支持将自动驾驶开发者与急救人员的互动方式进行标准化的努力。”
“Our emergency response protocols, coupled with our extensive training with first responders, are a critical component of our operations around the U.S. Establishing minimum guidelines would provide the entire industry and public safety community with a consistent framework, ensuring emergency responders have the resources and certainty they need whenever they encounter an autonomous vehicle on the road.” “我们的应急响应协议，加上我们与急救人员进行的广泛培训，是我们全美运营的关键组成部分。建立最低准则将为整个行业和公共安全社区提供一个统一的框架，确保急救人员在路上遇到自动驾驶车辆时，拥有他们所需的资源和确定性。”
Mullin is hardly alone in criticizing autonomous vehicle operators. Over the past several weeks, elected officials and federal regulators have raised concerns about autonomous vehicles and how they’ve interfered with first responders. 穆林并非唯一批评自动驾驶运营商的人。在过去几周里，民选官员和联邦监管机构纷纷对自动驾驶车辆及其对急救人员的干扰表示担忧。
In early July, NHTSA administrator Jonathan Morrison sent a letter to AV developers saying the agency had “identified a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders.” The letter demanded that AV developers present “solutions” to the problem by the end of the month — a deadline that has since passed, putting pressure on companies like Waymo, Zoox, and others to show progress or risk further federal action. 7 月初，NHTSA 局长乔纳森·莫里森（Jonathan Morrison）致信自动驾驶开发者，称该机构已“明确识别出无人驾驶车辆干扰执法部门及其他急救人员的模式”。信中要求自动驾驶开发者在月底前提出“解决方案”——目前该截止日期已过，这使得 Waymo、Zoox 等公司面临压力，必须展示进展，否则将面临进一步的联邦行动。
Mayor Lurie has asked California regulators to strengthen rules for autonomous vehicles following an hours-long July 4 traffic jam in San Francisco that was compounded by Waymo robotaxis that had run out of power, blocking key streets. 在 7 月 4 日旧金山发生的一起长达数小时的交通拥堵后，卢里市长已要求加州监管机构加强对自动驾驶车辆的监管。当时，多辆因电量耗尽而停在路上的 Waymo 自动驾驶出租车加剧了交通堵塞，阻断了关键街道。
Lurie has since pressed state regulators to establish new rules to prevent problems like the gridlock incident and a widespread power outage in December that led to dozens of stranded Waymo vehicles. 此后，卢里一直敦促州监管机构制定新规，以防止类似交通瘫痪事件以及去年 12 月导致数十辆 Waymo 车辆滞留的大规模停电事故再次发生。
“Residents and visitors should be able to take an AV, public transit, or bike around our city safely, and they must also trust that our police and fire departments can reach them in an emergency,” Lurie said, speaking in support of Mullin’s proposed bill during the press conference. “居民和游客应该能够安全地乘坐自动驾驶车辆、公共交通工具或骑自行车在我们的城市中穿行，他们也必须相信，在紧急情况下，我们的警察和消防部门能够及时赶到，”卢里在新闻发布会上发言支持穆林的提案时说道。